Overwatch League Week 12 Recap

Overwatch League's week 12 matches promised non-stop action with high profile match-ups and regional rivalries. The season's first Battle of Texas took place and was important for both teams. The Houston Outlaws and the Dallas Fuel have been trying to redeem themselves after the poor start to the season. The Seoul Dynasty would also see a return to the league as they've been sitting out for some time now. Despite eight clean sweeps this weekend these matches were a lot closer than their match scores would suggest.

Seoul Dynasty 3 v 0 Hangzhou Spark
Guangzhou Charge 0 v 3 Shanghai Dragons
New York Excelsior 3 v 0 Chengdu Hunters
Atlanta Reign 0 v 3 Philadelphia Fusion
San Francisco Shock 3 v 0 Los Angeles Valiant

Hangzhou Spark 3 v 1 Chengdu Hunters
Shanghai Dragons 3 v 0 Seoul Dynasty
Guangzhou Charge 0 v 3 New York Excelsior
Florida Mayhem 3 v 0 Boston Uprising
Houston Outlaws 2 v 3 Dallas Fuel

Over the past few weeks the western teams have started to settle. The Shanghai Dragons emerging the superior team while the Chengdu Hunters sit at the bottom of the pack. The only other big question mark was how the Seoul Dynasty would fit into it all. They were 2 and 0 going into the weekend but hadn't played any matches since the online format started. Only one of these two teams could sit on top and the Dragons were planning on sending a clear message as to who that would be.

The Shanghai Dragons came out of the gate with high aggression and laser-focused precision. Lee "LIP" Jae-won on the Mcree was a huge X factor right from the start as he hit headshot after shot. The Dragons nearly had !00% to 0% in the first round but an overextension by Lee "LeeJaeGon" Jae-Gon allowed the Seoul Dynasty the moment they needed to capture the point. The Dynasty run their capture up to 70%, but Shanghai brings it back and take the round. Round 2 both teams change up the comps, swapping Mei and Mcree for Soldier 76 and Sombra. The tanks swap from Shields to Winston and D.va. The supports swap from LucioBaptiste and Ana to Bridgette and Zenyatta. With the mirror comps Shanghai easily takes first capture. Seoul manages to flip the point for a brief second in a team fight, but Shanghai takes the map.

Shanghai's starting defense with LIP on Mcree and Byungsun "Fleta" Kim on Pharah is almost impossible for the Seoul Dynasty to break. Fleta does an incredible job of playing angles on the Pharah that makes her hard to get a shot on her. With under a minute to go on point A, Seoul invests both of their support ultimate abilities to move onto point A and a Nano Boosted Dongeon "FITS" Kim on Mcree cleans up half the Dragons, allowing for a point A take. Souel's first attack on point nets them 85% capture but the Dragons fend them off and hold strong.

On the Dragons attack, they use a Symmetra teleport to go straight to point A and roll over the Seoul Dynasty heading toward point B with 6 minutes on the clock and three ultimate abilities in the bank. The Seoul Dynasty fall apart one by one and the Shanghai Dragons win the map.

The Shanghai Dragons' defense on Rialto is devastating to the Seoul Dynasty. Fleta on the Pharah and LIP on the Mcree control the map from both the sky and the ground. The Dynasty has committed multiple ultimate abilities to make any ground at all. They fight tooth and nail for point A, but due to Shanghai's defender spawn advantage even when the fights go Seoul's way the Dragons are able to fight back. The round ends in a full hold by the Shanghai Dragons.

On Shanghai's attack once the cart starts moving it doesn't stop until it's nearly on the point and Seoul has no choice but to contest or lose. Kills are exchanged left and right, ultimate abilities are charged and used. A total of 2 minutes elapse from the start of the match till it finishes in one long extended team fight. But it's ultimately the Shanghai dragons and their team coordination that hang the Seoul Dynasty a clean sweep and their first defeat of the season.

The Battle for Texas is one of the top regional rivalries in the league and with both of these bouncing back from slow starts to the season, they each had something to prove with a win. The only match to go the distance this week, every round was fought tooth and nail and winners and losers would be decided by key moments throughout the match.

Dallas commits to a full dive composition running Genji, Doomfist, Winston, D.va, Lucio, and Ana. The Outlaws on the other hand, fielding something a bit more stable in the meta, Mei, Reaper, Reinhardt, D.va, Lucio, and Ana. The Fuel's composition requires much more coordination on a team level which they aren't able to achieve. The Outlaws win the first fight thanks in large part to Seungsoo "Jecse" Lee building an insanely fast Lucio sound barrier. The Outlaws build control capture up to 99% but before they can take the round, Jang "Decay" Gui-un changes the flow of battle with a Nanoblade and the Fuel take control. With Dallas in firm control of the point their composition begins to excel as they're able to control where the team fights take place. The Fuel eventually takes the round.

Round 2 see's a composition swap from Houston Outlaws to dive as well. Both teams running nearly mirror compositions. Houston has Dante "Danteh" Cruz on the Sombra instead of Genji. Jecse is on Bridgette instead of the Lucio. The Outlaws completely outplay the Fuel on this map and take the round 100% to 0%. In round 3 the Fuel finds an early pick onto Jecse which allows them to take first control of the point. With a solid defense and control over the tempo of the match, they lose the point just briefly. An EMP from Danteh should've helped the Outlaws hold it longer but Wonsik "Closer" Jung negates it with a sound barrier. The Fuel clean up the Outlaws taking the round and the map.

Houston starts their defense on Volskaya with the same dive composition from the previous round. The Fuel brings in a more stable meta composition with Reaper and Mei. A surprise flank by Decay on the Reaper catches Kim "Rapel" Jun-keun's Ana and gets the early pick. It looks as though the Fuel have point A as they push the Outlaws back and nearly capture the point. But a key hack by Danteh's Sombra and high-level Doomfist execution by Jeffrey "blasé" Tsang somehow manage to push the Fuel back and the Houston Outlaws hold them at point A.

The Outlaws start their attack with Mei and Mcree while the Dallas Fuel defends using Mei and Hanzo. Both sides rely on patience and setting the damage heroes up for key picks. The Fuel seems to have the advantage at first, but as Rapel builds his Nanoboost on Ana, Blasé comes back on the Doomfist. With a Nanoboosted Doomfist, the Outlaws engage the Fuel in an extended team fight that eventually leads to the win.

Dallas starts their defense of Route 66 with a double shield composition and Ashe and Mei as their damage dealers. Utilizing high ground, a patient defense, and stellar ultimate economy they keep the Outlaws to a point A hold. The Outlaws bring out a full dive composition for defense, knowing they have to hold the Dallas Fuels even before point A. Fuel brings out Zarya over the Sigma and Mcree and Torbjorn to try and counter the dive. The Outlaws are able to outplay the Dallas Fuel at every opportunity and they nearly had the win. However, Austin "Muma" Wilmot gets caught out and picked off before he can use his Primal Rage and it allows the Fuel to take the win in overtime.

Houston starts their defense of Eichenwalde with the same Doomfist and Sombra dive set-up. They foil Dallas' first attempt at the point but eventually are able to roll through. The Fuel runs their own ReaperSombra through point A but the Outlaws are first control of the tempo of the battle. The Outlaws are in a position to stop the match before point B, but Muma gets caught and picked off, followed by a kill on Danteh which allows the Fuel into the point C corridor. In the final 30 seconds Blasé is able to secure several kills and shut down the Fuel's run.

For their own defense, Dallas runs double shields with Mei and Mcree. Houston brings out Reinhardt and Zarya with Doomfist and Reaper. The Fuel has solid control on the point but the Outlaws are finally able to break it with well placed Graviton Surge from Zarya. They enter the second leg of the map with a bank full of ultimate's but little time on the clock. The Fuel weather the ultimate abilities and hold the Outlaws for most of the map, but a final showdown at point B goes all wrong for them. Taehong "Mek0" Kim falls first at point B and Muma gets focused by the Fuel but doesn't die. Jecse manages to secure several kills using Muma as a distraction and the Outlaws capture point B in the cleanup. In the corridor the Outlaws outplay the Fuel and take the map.

On Oasis the Houston Outlaws stick with the pure dive composition, running Doomfirst, Sombra, Wrecking Ball, and D.va. The Fuel goes a bit more conventional with a Sombra and Reaper combo alongside Reinhardt and D,va. Houston takes first control as Fuel focus target the Outlaw's support line but can't actually secure the kill and get mopped up by the Outlaws. Houston keeps a solid hold of the point and control of the fight. The Fuel does manage a quick flip on the point but Blasé Doomfist cleans them up and the Outlaws take the round.

Houston comes into this match with huge aggression and takes the point off a first pick by MekO with Blasé cleaning up. They hold the point to 99% before the Fuel is able to flip it back and hold the point through several team fights to take the round. In the final round both teams swap out their Sombra's to run the Reaper and Mei composition with Reinhardt and D.va. The Fuel has the upper hand as they outplay the Outlaws, take an ultimate economic advantage, and eventually the map.

For more Overwatch League recaps and analysis by Robbie Landis and Jake Lyon, make sure you check out the OWLs Nest!

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